Understanding the College Application Process & the Common App
For Parents and Students
Generally speaking if students plan to be finished by October 20th, 2023 for November 1 deadlines and October 31st, 2023 for all other deadlines they will be in the best position to meet all deadlines and not feel overwhelmed at the end of the semester. Unless someone is using rolling admission which can be open through January and February of 2024. Students are responsible to know their own application deadlines!
General Resources:
Class of 2024 College Application Presentation by Mrs. Volker
College Application Guide: Detailed Step by Step Instructions
Page 1 - An overview of all steps in the process
Page 3 - Details for the Common App
Page 5 - Details for Applying Directly to the college's website
Page 6 - All about Transcripts
Page 8-9 Finances, FAFSA and Scholarships
College Deadlines: A Cheat Sheet
Brag Sheet for students to fill out and Give the teachers who are writing letters of rec for them
2024 Google Classroom: Students please remember that all these resources are
available on Google Classroom.
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Students with last names L-Z txk5s4u
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Resources:
The FAFSA opens December 1, 2023 and is based on the previous year's taxes (2022 taxes for the 2024/2025 school year when filling it out in December of 2023). Both parent and student will need to create a FSA ID to represent their respective signature. The actual FAFSA account should be created in the student's name, social security number and birth date. We recommend completing a FAFSA application by February 1st, 2024 in order to receive timely "Statement of Costs" from the colleges a student has been admitted to.
Going Merry is a great resource for FAFSA and Scholarships.
They have a "FAFSA Made Easier" that uses common everyday questions.
Parents give it a try here.
Click here for links to the Financial Aid 101 Presentation given by Sinclair Community College
Click here for Sinclair's short video clips on filling out the FAFSA
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP 101
Helpful Sites include:
- Going Merry, Fastweb, Scholarships.com, Chegg and College Board
- Going Merry is highly recommended and works much like the Common App. Fill it out once and use it to apply to many scholarships.